What happens if a gopher tortoise burrow is on Florida land you're clearing?

Last Updated: November 8, 2026 · Written by Sunward Palm Coast Land Clearing

Work stops 25 feet short of it. Gopher tortoises and their burrows are protected by Florida law, and FWC requires a relocation permit before any work within 25 feet of a burrow. If every part of the clearing stays 25 feet away, no permit is needed; if the burrow is where the house goes, a permit and relocation by an authorized agent come first. Sunward Palm Coast Land Clearing looks for burrows on the first walk of every lot for that reason, so we know before you’ve set a clearing date.

The rule

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission protects gopher tortoises and their burrows. A relocation permit is required before disturbing a burrow, and disturbance includes any work within 25 feet of one. FWC recommends temporary exclusion fencing where work runs near a burrow that is being avoided. The rule applies on any land, from a quarter-acre Palm Coast lot to a commercial site.

Where they dig, and what a burrow looks like

Gopher tortoises dig in dry, well-drained sand, the higher ridges rather than the wet flatwoods. A burrow entrance is a half-moon shape, flat on the bottom and arched on top, roughly as wide as the tortoise, with a fan of loose sand spread in front of it. In dense palmetto they are easy to miss, which is why we walk a lot before any brush is cut. Old, collapsed burrows and active ones can look alike; FWC-authorized agents survey and classify them when a permit is needed.

How a burrow changes the plan

If the burrow is at the edge of the lot, we work around it: we mark a 25-foot circle and leave it alone, with fencing if work runs close. That can be enough on a lot clearing job where the burrow sits in the back corner.

If the burrow is inside the house footprint, the driveway or the area that has to be graded, it can’t be avoided. A relocation permit is applied for and an FWC-authorized agent excavates the burrow and moves the tortoise before clearing starts. That adds time and cost that are best known early, which is why the first walk happens before the house permit date rather than on clearing day. The guide to how long clearing takes puts this in the sequence.

When to look

The best time to look for burrows is before the brush is cut and well before the clearing date: on the first walk of the lot, ideally while the house permit is still in review. Dense palmetto hides burrow entrances, so we walk slowly along the sandy, higher parts of the lot and around the edges, where tortoises often dig. Finding a burrow then leaves time to plan around it or apply for relocation; finding one with a machine means stopping work. A photo of each burrow with its position on the survey makes the permit conversation much quicker.

Burrows next door

The 25-foot buffer is measured from the burrow, not from your lot line. A burrow on the vacant lot next door, close to the shared line, can put the edge of your lot inside the zone. On that side we wait, or work by hand outside the buffer, until it’s resolved.

Brush strips and mulching

Fire hazard strips and forestry mulching jobs on dry sandy lots are where burrows are likely, because the ground tortoises like is the ground being cut. Routine maintenance that doesn’t collapse a burrow is allowed without a permit, but a tracked mulcher’s weight can collapse one, so we keep the mulcher at a distance. The fire hazard guide covers those strips.

Other protected species

Gopher tortoises aren’t the only listed species in the area. A federal habitat conservation plan for the Florida scrub-jay and eastern indigo snake has covered a coastal development in Flagler County, and the indigo snake uses tortoise burrows. On larger sites, a wildlife survey is part of the permit process. On wet ground, the wetlands guide covers the other common environmental permit, and the cornerstone guide puts both in order.